Windsor Spitfires Stumble to Start New Week Following Productive Weekend
The Windsor Spitfires kicked off another week of Ontario Hockey League action with a rare mid-week road game that resulted in a 4-3 loss to the Sting in Sarnia on Tuesday night. Windsor will remain away from the WFCU Centre to play the Attack in Owen Sound on Wednesday night.
Ethan Miedema, Pasquale Zito and Will Cuylle all scored for the Spitfires, who never had a lead during the game on Tuesday despite out shooting the Sting in all three periods and by a 40-21 margin overall. Zach Filak scored twice for the home team while Ethan Ritchie and Nolan Dann added single markers. Sarnia netminder Anson Thornton turned in a stellar 38-save performance enroute to being named the game’s first star. Matt Onuska made 17 saves for the Spitfires.
Last Thursday night, March 10, the Spitfires hosted the Owen Sound Attack in what turned out to be a tight-checking, low-scoring affair that resembled playoff hockey. Cuylle scored both Windsor goals, including the overtime winner, as the Spitfires emerged with a 2-1 win over their Midwest Division counterparts. Cuylle opened the scoring just past the midway point of the game and that slim on-goal lead stood up until Nicholas Porco notched his 19th goal of the season with just under seven minutes remaining in the third period to set the stage for extra time.
The Spitfires started overtime on the powerplay as the Attack took a penalty with just eight seconds remaining in the third period. Windsor’s vaunted powerplay, the second best in the Ontario Hockey League, took just 36 seconds to click as Cuylle tipped home a rebound off a a Wyatt Johnston shot that had hit the goalpost and was sitting behind Attack netminder Nick Chenard. Johnston, the OHL’s scoring leader, assisted on both of Cuylle’s goal enroute to being named the game’s first star.
Onuska made 18 saves to pick up the win in goal for Windsor while Chenard, who is from Tecumseh, made 30 stops while turning in a sterling performance himself.
In the first of back-to-back games against the Erie Otters at the Erie Insurance Arena, Matthew Tovell took the net for the Spitfires after being recalled earlier in the week from the Hawkesbury Hawks with starting netyminder Xavier Medina still out with an injury. Tovell who was seeing action in his eighth game of the season for the Spitfires, also played earlier in the season with the LaSalle Vipers.
Mathew Maggio paced Windsor offensively with two goals and an assist while Ryan Abraham and Johnston both scored once. But it wasn’t enough as the Otters received single goals from Nathan Sauder, Elias Cohen, Daniel D’Amato, Colby Saganiuk, Brendan Hoffmann and Brendan Sellan (empty net) enroute to a 6-4 victory. Owen Lalonde made 30 saves for the Otters while Tovell had 27 stops at the other end.
The following night Matt Onuska returned between the pipes for Windsor and made 21 saves as the Spitfires emerged with a 5-4 overtime win. Alex Christopoulos, Daniil Sobolev , Johnston and Maggio all scored in regulation time before Cuylle again scored the winner in overtime for the second time in the last three games.
Noah Sedore , Carey Terrance, Sauder and Sellan all scored once while Lalonde made 31 saves for the Otters.
After Wewdnesday night’s game in Owen Sound, the Spitfires will take to the road again, heading into Michigan again to play the Firebirds in Flint this Saturday night.as the team finishes a five-game stretch on the road. Windsor’s next home game is next Sunday, March 20, when the team hosts the Firebirds to close out the weekend home-and-home series.